You don’t know what you don’t know, until you know the person better

I often hear people say things like, “most of the people in my BNI chapter are not ideal for our business” or “BNI doesn’t suite us because we’re after a different target market”. I would suggest they’re misguided… as the political philosopher Rousseau once said: “Do not judge, and you will never be mistaken”.

You do not join a BNI chapter or a network to sell to that network. That’s direct selling, not networking. You join a BNI for ‘who the people in your BNI know’.

My wife is a homemaker. Many business people I’ve met would not even give her the time of day as a potential referral source. One day she utilised one of my BNI member’s services. That afternoon, while at my daughter’s gymnastics training, she told another mum about her experience. That mum’s husband was a company director… the rest, as they say, is history.

Get to know the people in your network, including socially. Do your dances. Have a beer with them. Find out about them. Get close.

Help them and they will help you.

You don’t know what you don’t know, until you know the person better.
Train your network to sell on your behalf. Do not try to sell to them. They are not your customers. If you want a handful of cold call prospects, pick up the telephone directory.
But if you want a network, join a network to network, not sell.